Metro trains and stations are being given an innovative facelift through a new poster exhibition.

Metro trains and stations are being given an innovative facelift through a new poster exhibition.

Walls of carriages and platforms have been transformed into hanging space for self-portraits done by people from across the country.

And these are some of the stunning exhibits by amateur artists from the North East.

Duncan Thompson from Whitley Bay has produced a work on the effects of time, presenting himself as he once was - a handsome young meteorologist out at sea - and as he now is, a retired teacher and grandfather.

And Newcastle United under-17 goalie Ben Smith has shown where he would like to be in the future - between the sticks at his beloved St James's Park - by presenting himself beside United keeper Shay Given.

Grandmother-of-eight Meg Colpitts, 61, from Newcastle, had a special reason to do a self-portrait. Recently diagnosed with lung cancer, she wanted to make a record of her experiences.

"I was in denial about my illness, and it wasn't until my hair started to fall out that I had to accept it," she explained.

"I had such beautiful hair that I decided if I was going to lose it, I would get a mohican and become a punk. It was my rebellion against the cancer. I wanted to show it that I didn't care. I did it for a joke."

Other portraits done by people in the region include 94-year-old Winifred Lowdon's photograph of an ornament she was given as a child and one by six-year-old Chelsea, a Gateshead schoolgirl who says she is happiest when she sees the colour pink.

The brains behind the display is Newcastle-based production company Media 19. It invited people from across Britain to put pen to paper, brush to canvas, or even hand to mouse to create a self-portrait to illustrate their personalities to the world at large.

Thousands of people took part in the competition and their work has been displayed at London's National Portrait Gallery, been the subject of a series of film shorts for Channel 4 and is now travelling the country via underground transport systems and regional art galleries.

The exhibition is the latest in a long line of art displays which have been featured on the Metro and will be on display on the system until December.

Paul Collard from the NewcastleGateshead Initiative, which is leading the bid for the 2008 Capital of Culture title, said: "This is another innovative project to come out of Tyneside and capture the imagination of the people of the UK."